“Edmond, the Thing” by Astrid Desbordes and Marc Boutavant
Our favorite little pom-pom hat wearing squirrel is back and we couldn’t be happier! (Remember the pom-pom hats we made inspired by him here?) This time, instead of battling his shyness, Edmond is faced with learning about acceptance and inclusion.
It all starts when one day he and his friend George Owl happen upon a strange, fluffy creature. At first they are afraid of him and even try banning him from their community. However, they learn a different perspective through Owl wearing a spooky disguise that helps them understand that maybe the Thing isn’t as scary as they thought. With the help of a few green cookies for bravery it isn’t long before they have made a new friend.
The illustrations in this book are bold and vivid and they really couldn’t be much cuter. Add to them characters as likable of Edmond and George with a winning story and you really can’t go wrong. We love this book!
Click here to purchase “Edmond, the Thing” (pre order, it’s out October 17th)
Green “Bravery” Cookies
In this story, green cookies make a few appearances. Most notably when Edmond and George are first perplexed by finding the Thing and need a little bravery and then later when they take some to the Thing in an attempt to share and become friends. I love the symbolism that these cookies take on throughout the story. They come to represent bravery in accepting and giving new things a change and love and inclusion. That is when I knew that we needed some “green bravery cookie action” in our life. In fact, maybe the whole world could do with a few batches, am I right?!
In the book they are green round cookies with green polka dots on top. This made me instantly think of M and M cookies and that is essentially what this recipe is here. I purchased a couple large bags of m and ms so that I would have enough green ones after sorting them out (this recipe calls for 2 cups M and Ms). However, there are places that you can purchase just green m and ms or you can use other brands of candy covered chocolate candies that are green. Add a little green food coloring (I added a bit more than I usually would for these photos so that I would have bright, bold colors) and you are good to go! Note: I would recommend green gel food coloring as it is more concentrated and produces bolder results.
These cookies are soft, chewy and simply divine. I hope that you and your children love them as much as we do. Now if only some green cookies could solve the all the world’s problems… Even if they don’t though, I think teaching children this message it is a good place to start.
Green “Bravery” Cookies
- Total Time: 30h
- Yield: 15-20 cookies
- Category: book recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups flour
- 1 tablespoon corn starch
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 cup butter, softened
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups green candy coated chocolate candies (1/2 cup for topping)
- green gel food coloring
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, corn starch, salt and baking soda until combined. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, cream butter and both sugars together until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla extract and mix until combined. Add the flour mixture slowly on low speed and mix until just combined. Then add green food coloring until you achieve your desired shade of green. (I added a touch more food coloring than I usually would for these photos so that I could have bright, bold colors that would photograph well.)
- With a large spoon, stir in 1 1/2 cups of green candy coated chocolate candies. Then scoop the finished dough with a spoon or a 1 1/2 tablespoon scoop and roll it into balls and place on a prepared baking sheet (greased or lined) leaving about an inch in between each ball. Next, press about five green chocolate candies on each cookie dough ball. This gives an appealing polka dot result after the cookies are baked. Keep in mind they will spread out as they bake so you can really press on quite a few candies.
- Bake in the oven for 8-10 minutes. They will look puffy and slightly underdone. Pull them out and allow them to finish baking on the cookie sheet for about 10 minutes before removing to cool on cooling racks.
If you give this Beyond the Book activity a try I’d love to hear how it goes! Share it on Instagram using hashtag #beyondthebook (I’m on Instagram as @book.nerd.mommy) or even just comment here with your thoughts. It would make my day! Or to simply save for later pin the image below.
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